Rhode Island's ticking time bomb This is a story about the pension crisis that's tearing apart Providence and Central Falls and just might lay waste to the whole goddamn state.

Net neutrality has become the biggest free speech issue of the 21st century. Is it doomed to failure? One morning last month, Senator Al Franken stood at the podium of a hotel in downtown Austin, looking out at some of the most innovative minds in the country gathered at this year's South by Southwest Interactive conference. "I know that many of you have heard people talk about net neutrality before," he said, "but I want to take just a moment to explain it, because part of the strategy being used to destroy net neutrality is to confuse Americans about what the term even means."

Rhode Island's ticking time bomb This is a story about the pension crisis that's tearing apart Providence and Central Falls and just might lay waste to the whole goddamn state.

Net neutrality has become the biggest free speech issue of the 21st century. Is it doomed to failure? One morning last month, Senator Al Franken stood at the podium of a hotel in downtown Austin, looking out at some of the most innovative minds in the country gathered at this year's South by Southwest Interactive conference. "I know that many of you have heard people talk about net neutrality before," he said, "but I want to take just a moment to explain it, because part of the strategy being used to destroy net neutrality is to confuse Americans about what the term even means."

Cicilline on the hot seat It's been a brutal couple of months for Providence mayor-turned-freshman Congressman David Cicilline.

Comics fest returns, with kids up front If you have any doubt that comic books are ascendant in popular culture, look no farther than the film Thor , based on the Marvel adaptation of the Norse god, which has earned more than $344 million in less than a month in theaters.

Museum dreams This week, we're joining a guided tour of the Maine Museum of Political Paleontology. A docent is explaining to a group of schoolchildren what's happening in a scene depicting cave people trying to register to vote.

George Pelecanos's Spero falls short Better than almost any current writer, Pelecanos has shown what city dwellers have known for years: that it is urban neighborhoods, and not suburbs, where what we think of as the small-town values of community and knowing your neighbors have taken root.

Paid to play A majority of respondents said being paid to convince elected officials how to vote is the world's least respectable occupation — except for actually being an elected official.

Political football Sadly, the only upcoming event with the capacity to truly inspire hope for millions of Americans, the start of the 2011 NFL season, will be twice marred by our current political culture and media.